DM Chapter 50

Chapter 50: “Overthinking” vs. “Not Overthinking”

 

“By the way,” Jiang Xiaoyuan asked, “what were you talking to that old witch about just now?”

Qi Lian glanced at her through the rearview mirror, his eyes slightly curved, seemingly with a hint of a smile: “Take a guess.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan’s imagination ran wild: “Do you have some evidence of her committing a crime?”

Qi Lian gave a nonchalant smile: “Flies can’t sting an egg without cracks, and she’s already shattered, so no wonder people are picking on her—truth be told, if Jiang Bo really wanted to go after her, he would’ve sued her long ago. Unfortunately, he probably just isn’t willing.”

Not only is he unwilling, but he even said earlier that he’s going to take care of her when she’s old.

Jiang Xiaoyuan fell silent for a moment.

But there’s no other way—people aren’t like books, you can’t just flip the page and move on. For Jiang Bo to have taken this step is already surprisingly brave; you can’t ask for more.

Jiang Xiaoyuan stretched her legs in the relatively spacious front passenger seat and suddenly felt a bit reflective: “Actually, when you think about it, a person born without illness, with normal intelligence and healthy limbs, is already quite lucky compared to some people. If they can grow up in a normal family, with normal parents, without abuse or accidents from childhood to adulthood… well, that’s even luckier compared to others.”

When she first came into this world, confused and helpless, without a degree and unable to find a decent job, Jiang Xiaoyuan thought a degree was the key to entering society, the foundation of life. With it, you didn’t seem that extraordinary, but without it, life became incredibly difficult.

It wasn’t until now that she realized that a degree is nothing—it’s at best a small, irrelevant embellishment.

Mental and personal integrity is the true foundation.

But then, thinking of Jiang Bo’s phoenix-like rebirth from the ashes, Jiang Xiaoyuan suddenly felt that even “integrity” might not be the deepest foundation.

In the grand scheme of humanity, beauty and exceptional intelligence are rare—only one in millions possesses them. The next level includes those with good inherent conditions and wealthy families, also not many. Then there are the ordinary people. Below them are those struggling with their own burdens, and further down are those who can’t even enjoy being “ordinary.” The depths can go on infinitely, and no one knows where the bottom of the world is.

Everyone feels like they’re stuck in their own inescapable swamp, but if you really look, within seven steps, you can always find someone worse off. Even a person with nothing still has life.

Life itself is the miraculous foundation.

“I just remembered,” Jiang Xiaoyuan suddenly said out of nowhere to Qi Lian, “the name of that ‘Fragrant Year something’ studio we registered before really lacks uniqueness, not great for my company’s future.”

Qi Lian: “So what are you changing it to?”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “Changing it to ‘Nirvana.'”

The word, in this context, felt appropriate and meaningful. Qi Lian raised an eyebrow slightly.

Jiang Xiaoyuan continued, “The goal is to let those born with bad genes get a second chance through artificial means. Turn style into magic and let all the ugly ducklings in the world be reborn in Nirvana!”

Qi Lian: “…”

Is this an ad or an invitation to get punched?

“Oh, right,” Jiang Xiaoyuan remembered something and, feeling a bit guilty, said, “I keep troubling you to drive me around on your weekend off. Am I interrupting your real work?”

Qi Lian: “Not at all, consider it a break. I enjoy spending time with you, it makes me happy.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”

She swallowed hard, feeling like his words carried some other meaning, but Qi Lian’s demeanor was so natural… it didn’t seem like he meant anything else.

Qi Lian was sometimes ambiguous, never saying things outright, which left Jiang Xiaoyuan constantly swinging between “Am I overthinking this?” and “No, I’m not.” Her heart felt like a ping-pong ball.

Qi Lian seemed completely oblivious, calmly saying, “Actually, sometimes I think, if I were you, I probably wouldn’t be doing as well as you are.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan chuckled awkwardly, thinking it was just a polite compliment.

She didn’t like prying into others’ lives and didn’t know much about Qi Lian’s background. Based on her limited interactions with him, she had the impression that Qi Lian could do anything.

He seemed to be a few years older than her, but Jiang Xiaoyuan thought that even if she aged a few more years, she still wouldn’t have his kind of effortless strength—just the fact that he could talk to anyone was something she couldn’t do. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have such terrible relations at Boss Chen’s hair salon.

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “No, I’m far behind… In fact, after talking to that ‘Fan’ person earlier, the cold sweat on my back still hasn’t dried. Whenever I meet people older than me or with a stronger presence, I always get really nervous.”

She hadn’t even realized Jiang Bo was a coward at first, and even when reporting to Teacher Jiang, her palms would sweat.

Qi Lian: “That’s normal. People are always afraid of what they don’t understand. It’ll get better with familiarity.”

That made sense—like how Jiang Xiaoyuan, after getting familiar with Empress Dowager Jiang, no longer felt any fear.

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “But it’s impossible for me to immediately see through people who are older, more experienced, more powerful, and more cunning than I am when I first meet them.”

Qi Lian: “Which is why your reaction is normal. Everyone’s the same; don’t worry about it too much.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan blurted out: “I don’t see you reacting like that.”

Qi Lian didn’t respond right away. He was focused on the road ahead. Apart from his focused look, there was no trace of joy, anger, sorrow or happiness on his face.

Just when she thought he wouldn’t answer, Qi Lian said: “Because I understand.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan really wanted to ask why he understood, but for a moment, she had the inexplicable feeling that Qi Lian didn’t want to talk about it, so she wisely kept her mouth shut.

The next morning, Jiang Xiaoyuan arrived at the studio with a dozen pancakes to check the renovation progress, only to unexpectedly find Empress Dowager Jiang there as well.

Jiang Bo’s head injury no longer required a bandage, leaving only a faint scar on his forehead, which he covered with a slight adjustment to his hairstyle. To outsiders, he still looked like his usual ghostly self, with no visible difference.

Holding a handkerchief to his nose, he was talking to the renovation workers.

As soon as Jiang Xiaoyuan walked in, the domineering smell of the pancakes instantly filled the entire room, overpowering the scent of the construction materials and piercing through Jiang Bo’s fragile handkerchief, stubbornly finding its way into his nose.

Startled, Empress Dowager Jiang shot Jiang Xiaoyuan a look, her eyes like two contemptuous steel needles aimed directly at the pancakes in her hands.

Jiang Xiaoyuan ignored him, thinking: “This ungrateful wretch, has he forgotten the grace of saving his life so quickly?”

The workers of the engineering team, however, greeted her warmly, taking the breakfast from her hands with familiarity.

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “Teacher Jiang, want some?”

Jiang Bo tilted his pale, fragile neck back, as if Jiang Xiaoyuan was handing him a grenade instead of a simple pancake.

With two aristocratic fingers, he snatched the pancake from her hand and promptly handed it to the worker beside him. Finally, he spoke: “With your height and weight, a girl like you would only burn off enough calories to eat one and a half pancakes a day. Go ahead, eat up, you’ll just get fatter.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan forced a smile and replied: “Boss, a mule can’t survive on just its basic metabolic rate.”

What kind of self-deprecating spirit could make her compare herself to a mule in front of everyone? Jiang Bo couldn’t quite understand. He turned his head, coughed twice: “Come with me.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan, sharp as ever, immediately sensed the unspoken words “treating her” in his tone. Without hesitation, she happily followed.

The two were in complete sync, not mentioning the incident that had occurred the previous night in the villa. They were both trying to forget it — after all, knowing someone else’s embarrassing history can be a burden, and Jiang Xiaoyuan wished she could forget it all.

Jiang Bo occasionally bluffed with fake designer brands to fool others, but he wasn’t willing to lower his actual quality of life. He brought Jiang Xiaoyuan to a nearby five-star hotel restaurant.

Still holding the lingering fragrance of her pancakes, Jiang Xiaoyuan quickly ditched her longtime “old lover” who had accompanied her for many days without any obstacles and unceremoniously ordered a Western-style breakfast.

After ordering, she closed the menu, dismissed the waiter, and gracefully twisted her neck in a few practiced motions, sitting with the poise of a high-society lady. Without showing her teeth, she smiled and asked, “Teacher Jiang, what’s the matter?”

Jiang Bo: “…”

He thought the woman across from him was smiling like a weasel.

Jiang Bo cleared his throat: “About the studio…”

“Oh,” Jiang Xiaoyuan immediately began her report, “Everything is almost ready. The other day, I changed the name to ‘Nirvana Studio.’ Doesn’t it sound more artistic?”

Jiang Bo waved his hand and coughed lightly. “The name doesn’t really matter.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan sat upright, ready to hear the boss’s strategic insights for the future of their business.

But the boss said, “Everything I said the other day was nonsense. The studio’s operations will need a proper plan moving forward.”

A sense of dread welled up in Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…Which part was nonsense?”

Jiang Bo: “All of it, from the so-called ‘film base’ to ‘our own client resources.’ To be honest, I made up the ‘film base’ part. As for the resources… most of the clients I have are still connected to her. If I completely cut ties, there might not be much left.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”

Jiang Bo clasped his fingers together, staring at his smooth, clean nails. He spoke with difficulty, “If I had planned ahead, I wouldn’t have…”

The waiter arrived with the food, and Jiang Bo raised a finger, lightly pressing his chin, swallowing the rest of his words. But Jiang Xiaoyuan immediately understood his meaning.

Of course, if Jiang Bo had that kind of resolve, he wouldn’t have told Jiang Xiaoyuan in the first place that he wanted to leave.

He wouldn’t have resigned from the school.

Nor would he have been locked up in a tiny room, waiting for his foolhardy assistant to rescue him.

Jiang Xiaoyuan paused for a moment: “So that invitation was also…”

“Oh, not that. Once, a friend got a film gig but couldn’t make it, so they asked me to step in. I happened to meet some people there. It’s not really a connection, probably sent out as a courtesy to everyone they knew.” Jiang Bo explained.

Jiang Xiaoyuan’s heart trembled: “Then how did you decide to start your own studio?”

Jiang Bo rubbed his temples. “When you came running out with that invitation, telling me only I could understand my own efforts, and later when she kept pressuring me… I guess it was a combination of reasons.”

Expressionless, Jiang Xiaoyuan said, “If you dare say you were just acting on impulse, I will stab you with this butter knife right now.”

“Not entirely,” Jiang Bo paused. “As for the school… the principal’s wife is an acquaintance of hers. Now that we’ve had a falling out, I might not be able to stay there anymore. My only option is to go solo.”

No wonder he had hired an assistant so easily. It turned out to be a connection!

She had thought it was because Teacher Jiang had special expertise in his field. How naive.

Jiang Xiaoyuan felt her appetite wane. Their grand plan to conquer Asia hadn’t even begun, and they had already stumbled into a pitfall.

She sighed, “What other difficulties are there? Spill them all now.”

Jiang Bo: “Most of my assets have been under her control all these years. The card I gave you is one of the few bits of personal money I have left. The studio’s initial preparation might be tight… Show me the renovation budget later, and let’s save wherever we can. We might run short.”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “…”

Under her murderous gaze, Jiang Bo seemed to shrink back into his cowardly shell, avoiding her eyes. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared beforehand. If you want to work elsewhere, I can ask a few friends to help recommend you…”

With a bang, Jiang Xiaoyuan slapped her butter knife on the table, fuming with rage: “How can you be this broke and still eat here?!”

Jiang Bo: “…”

Jiang Xiaoyuan: “Waiter, cancel the rest of the order. We’re in a hurry!”

This fool is wasting money!

Others might find “a bright future after hitting rock bottom,” but Jiang Xiaoyuan realized her fate was always “a seemingly bright future that turns out to be yet another dead end.”

Life is unbearable!

 

 

 

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